NNA - China is battling to stamp out its first outbreak of the Omicron variant, only weeks before the Chinese new year and the Beijing Winter Olympics, with cases recorded in at least two distant provinces.

On Monday, health authorities reported 97 new locally transmitted cases for the preceding 24 hours, across several cities. At least 30 cases were in Henan province, while at least 31 new cases were reported in the Tianjin, including 15 children aged five to 15.

At least two of the cases detected in the city’s Jinnan district were reported as Omicron, the latest variant of Covid-19, which is many times more transmissible and is tearing through other countries around the world. Authorities said the two patients did not have a travel history out of the city.

In Anyang, Henan province, two Omicron cases were traced to a student who had arrived from Tianjin more than 300 miles (500km) away, officials said. There were 15 cases reported in Anyang for Monday but the breakdown of variant type was not disclosed.

State media have described the outbreak as China’s “first real battle against Omicron”.

In response, Tianjin authorities have tightened controls on people’s movements, requiring residents to get approval from employers or community authorities in order to leave, and 75,680 have been quarantined, according to the Global Times. Subway lines have been closed and about 150 flights reportedly cancelled. Schools and university campuses have been closed.

About 14 million residents of Tianjin districts have been asked to stay in place and report for testing. Those who do not will have their health code changed on the widely used app that controls quarantine, travel and other pandemic related movements.—The Guardian 

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